Cheryl Martin (Host): Worried about getting your first mammogram? You are not alone. Tina LaForge is here to help walk you through the process. She's a Mammography Supervisor at First Health Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst. You'll learn what to expect and how to prepare for that first mammogram. This is First Health and Wellness podcast from First Health of the Carolinas, connecting you to the people and medical services that make your life healthier.

I'm Cheryl Martin. Tina, so glad you're on.

Tina LaForge (Mammography Supervisor): Thanks. I'm so glad to be here.

Host: So when should women get their first mammogram?

Tina LaForge (Mammography Supervisor): Women of average risk, breast cancer risk, should start their annual exam at age 40.

Host: And how should you prepare for your first mammogram?

Tina LaForge (Mammography Supervisor): Well, first and foremost, you want to choose a location and what's really important doing that is picking a location that is ACR accredited, and that's the American College of Radiology. There are minimum standards required by the federal government, the MQSA, but ACR is a step up. These are more stringent regulations and you definitely want to go to a location that is ACR accredited. And how do you find that? You can look it up on their website, the acr.org, and you can just see if a location in your area, which ones are accredited and you want to make your appointment there.

Host: Anything else for preparing for your first mammogram?

Tina LaForge (Mammography Supervisor): It's important then when around your menstrual cycle. If you still having a menstrual cycle, you want to pick the week after your period, for the various reasons. But it's the best time to do that. If you don't have a menstrual cycle, it doesn't really matter. You pick whenever is good for you. But yeah.

Host: Now, how long does a mammogram usually take?

Tina LaForge (Mammography Supervisor): The average screening mammogram will take about 20 minutes, and that's usually including any questionnaires, getting your history, documenting and then performing the actual images. Also another tip for preparing for the day is wear a two piece outfit, whether it's pants and a shirt or a skirt and a blouse. You want to wear a two piece outfit so that it's easy to take just the top half off.

I can't tell you how many have come in in a full dress, and I'm like, well, okay. So you then you would be in an entire gown. And for your comfort, you probably want to just be in a two piece outfit. Also, don't wear your deodorant that day. We have many patients that wonder why and deodorant will mimic microcalcifications and microcalcifications can sometimes be early signs of cancer. So you don't want the doctor mistaking your deodorant for a potential cancer. So you want to definitely remove your deodorant. Don't wear that. Most places though, if you forget, they'll have a wipe there for you to take that off.

Host: Great. Now, does it hurt?

Tina LaForge (Mammography Supervisor): No. It shouldn't. I can't say that for every woman, it's exactly the same. But it is tight. It is a tight, pressing kind of feeling. A lot of my patients have likened it to the pressure of a blood pressure cuff. Blood pressure cuffs are tight. They're not technically painful, but they're tight. And a mammogram will feel like that. The mammogram also itself, even if for a long exposure, is only 20 seconds. So even if you find it uncomfortable, it's going to be 20 seconds. Now, there's more than one exposure. You have multiple pictures to be taken, but each one's only, like I said, a few seconds long.

A couple of things that you can do, like I said, is to pick the week after your period in your cycle, that'll help with your comfort comfort level. And if you are a big caffeine drinker, try to decrease the amount of caffeine you drink the week prior to your appointment. The breast tissue is very sensitive to caffeine and to hormones, so that's why you pick that time in your cycle, you also pick, trying to reduce your caffeine intake the week before.

Host: Now, are there particular types of mammograms? So should someone go in saying, I want this kind?

Tina LaForge (Mammography Supervisor): Most facilities are moving towards the 3D, if they haven't already. It's also referred to as tomosynthesis. It's a 3D mammogram. 3D's are by far a better way to penetrate the dense tissue. So for women that have thick tissue or they've been told they have dense breast tissue, the 3D is the way to go.

That's really what you want to be doing and the majority of facilities have 3D. A few more years from now, you won't even be able to find a facility that has 2D, but that's another choice that you can make when you choose a facility. Where am I going to schedule? You want to make sure that that facility does 3D mammograms.

Host: So how do you get your results and then when you do, what happens after that?

Tina LaForge (Mammography Supervisor): Federal law requires that you be notified in writing within 30 days. So you will receive a letter in the mail, in lay terms, it's not going to be very complex medical jargon. It'll be in lay terms and you will receive that. However, there are also a lot of facilities that will have digital reporting as well.

A MyChart kind of electronic reporting and you will get your results that way as well.

Host: And of course, the results will tell you if there is a problem and what next steps should be.

Tina LaForge (Mammography Supervisor): Yes. You know, if it's, everything is fine, the letter's going to say, Hey, we're happy to tell you, everything is great. We'll see you in a year kind of thing. Cause you know, it's recommended to have an annual screening mammogram if you're over 40. If that's not the case and there's something additionally, to be looked at, if the doctor has requested, the radiologists have requested additional images, it will say that too, that there's something that we'd like to clarify and these additional images have been requested, additional mammogram images, breast ultrasound images, sometimes a breast MRI, that kind of thing. It'll all say that in your letter. And like I said, in very simple terms.

Host: And you mentioned this, I was going to ask, how often should you get mammograms after the first one, so a year later.

Tina LaForge (Mammography Supervisor): Yes, annually for women over the age of 40, for women of, you know, average risk, the onset, the beginning, the first one. If you're in a higher risk group, you'll discuss that with your provider as to when do we need to start sooner than 40, but again, after 40, it's every year.

Host: Tina, any other tips you'd like to add for those getting a mammogram for the first time?

Tina LaForge (Mammography Supervisor): Not to be nervous. Been doing this for over 24 years, and I have had many patients that were so nervous they had, were physically upset, that their blood pressure was up, they were nauseous, they lost sleep. It's not that bad of an experience. It's nothing to be afraid of. Your tech will be wonderful and walk you through it. Don't be nervous. Don't be nervous. It's going to be fine. And these are professionals and they're going to be on top of it for you.

Host: That's a great way to end our conversation. Tina LaForge, thank you so much for helping put at ease women who are getting their first mammogram and hopefully they will continue. Thank you so much.

Tina LaForge (Mammography Supervisor): Thank you.

Host: Ready to schedule a mammogram, just call 866-415-2778. That's 866-415-2778. If you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels and check out the full podcast library for other topics of interest to you. This is First Health and Wellness Podcast brought to you by First Health of the Carolinas.

Thanks for listening.